Fungal pathogens are spreading - WHO warns governments against hesitant action
Created: 10/26/2022, 9:47 p.m
By: Kathrin Reikowski
The yeast Candida auris in a Petri dish.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about 19 disease-causing fungi that experts say are threatening public health.
© Nicolas Armer/dpa
They can be particularly dangerous for people with weakened immune systems - according to the WHO, 19 fungal pathogens are spreading more and more.
There is no more time for hesitation.
Geneva - Pathogenic fungi - 19 different species - need to be better researched according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
"For most fungal pathogens, there are no rapid and sensitive diagnostics, and the existing ones are neither generally available nor affordable worldwide," said the WHO in Geneva on Tuesday.
Although it is not yet known how many people are affected worldwide and how exactly the number of people affected is increasing, time is pressing: nobody can wait for better numbers.
Above all, people with previous illnesses or a limited immune system would easily get fungal infections, which are often recognized late and more and more often cannot be cured with existing medication.
And fungal diseases are life-threatening for some people.
Four fungal pathogens are classified as pathogenic by the WHO
The WHO has divided the 19 fungal pathogens into three groups.
Four of these are pathogens that they believe urgently need better research.
These pathogens are particularly life-threatening for patients with a weakened immune system:
Cryptococcus neoformans, which can cause meningitis.
Candida auris, which can affect the central nervous system, organs, bones and eyes, among other things.
Aspergillus fumigatus, which can nest in the lungs, among other things.
Widespread Candida albicans affects the mucous membranes in the mouth, throat, genital area and intestines - hardly causes any problems in healthy people, but can be life-threatening for those with a weakened immune system.
Doctors also warned of the spread of the fungi in hospitals in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.
Fungal pathogens: Spread through climate change, mobility and resistance to known active substances
Fungal diseases are spreading around the world on the one hand due to global warming, which favors pathogens of all kinds, and on the other hand due to international trade and the mobility of many people around the world.
In addition, pathogens are increasingly developing resistance to known active ingredients.
The WHO is therefore calling on governments and scientific institutions to expand laboratory capacities for diagnosis and monitoring, to invest more in research and development and to conduct more education in order to prevent fungal infections from the outset if possible.
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The fungal pathogen Candida auris primarily affects patients in clinics and is resistant to many active ingredients.
It was only discovered in Japan in 2009, but has already spread to more than 50 countries.
"Invasive fungal infections are estimated to be diagnosed in only 50% of cases during the patient's lifetime and are among the most frequently overlooked causes of death in intensive care patients," warned the German medical journal - like the RKI - as early as 2019. (dpa / kat)
